Playing ball center



C. C. DAVIS ET AL PLAYING BALL CENTER May 10, 1938.

Filed May 4, 1936 5 W 0 V mpw an w 5%. M

Patented May 10, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFECE PLAYING BALL CENTER.

Carlton C. Davis, Glen Ellyn, and Jesse Howell Gregory, Wheaton,

Ill.,

assignors to Great Western Athletic Goods Co., Chicago, Ill., a

' corporation of Illinois Application May 4, 1936, Serial No. 77,810

Claims.

incased in a filamentous winding and a flexible cover to provide finished playing balls.

0 According to the methods of manufacture now generally in use, suitable fibers such as, for instance, kapok are supplied in bales in which loose lumps or wads of fiber are compressed together. When these lumps or wads are removed from the bale, they are usually emptied into a container which is convenient to an operator whose duty it is to compress them together in the molded form. The amount of fibers used in each ball center is determined by weight, the lumps or wads being placed on a, scale until the scale indicates the predetermined weight. The

mass of loose fibers on the scale is then pieced.

in a moid and subjected to suihcient pressure to cause th m to retain a spherical form. Upon removal from the mold the compressed fibers exp 1d udeve y and therefore the ball centers v y ccnsidc-...ily size and in form. ad is then woimd about these ball centers. changes their shape iewhat because the thread wound about the tens compresses the fiber unevenly and as a. lit the wound centers vary both in size and in. shape.

This variation not only causes the completed bail to vary as to size, form, and performance but is also a constant source of annoyance and expense to the manufacturer. This is partly due to the fact that these wound centers are usually incasecl with leather cover portions which are cut out of prepared hides in predetermined sizes and forms. Largely due to these variations, it is nec-,

essary that the forms be cut in slightly smaller sizes than otherwise would be necessary. This is due to the fact that the prepared leather cannot be shrunk and therefore any adjustments that are necessary must be made by stretching.

The fitting of the ball cover portions individually to each ball center is a work requiring skilled labor and tedious adjustment. Thisfltting of the cover individually to each ball center is therefore quite an expensive operation which adds materially to the cost of the finished product. Furthermore, the amount of stre ching necessary varies considerably with each ball. As the bounce" or resiliency of the ball is to a certain extent dependent upon the tension under which the covers are secured, it is almost impossible under this known method to produce balls having standard resiliency.

This invention contemplates the provision of ball centers and a method of making them in which the above mentioned defectsare largely obviated. Ball centers constructed in accordance with our invention are substantially waterproof, do not appreciably vary in their weight, form, or other desirable characteristics, and may be manufactured in an economical and efficient manner.

The further purposes and the full nature of our invention will be understood from the accompanying description, drawing, and claims forming a part hereof. In the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a preferred form of our invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. i.

Fig. 3 is a corresponding sectional View of a modified form of our invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the numerai 3 indicates the preferred ball center at our inventicn which is constructed of compressed fibers such as, for instance, irapolr. These fibers after being weighed are felted compressed together in a thoroughiy crisscrossed manner in a suitable mold which is preferably heated uni the outer surface portion of the fibers is baked or fused sumciently to provide a semi-rigid shell With sufiicient pressure, fusing of the shell may occur without baiting. This shell 3 may be formed under .various conditions, but in practice, it has been found that subjecting the bali centers to a heat of from 600 to 700 F. for a period ranging from eight to ten minutes is Suficient to give the shell its desired properties.

Upon removing the article I from the mold, it will be found that a ball center has been produced which is, within exceedingly small limits, of predetermined shape, size, weight, and per, formance. In manufacturing this ball center, it is desirable that the fibers be first thoroughly crisscrossed. This crisscrossing of the fibers can be done in numerous ways but the preferred way of accomplishing this is to pass the loosely lumped wads of fiber through a picker, such as is used for picking hair for mattresses.- After passing through the picker the fibers are discharged in suspension and settle in a crisscross manner to form a loosely felted mass. For convenience, the fibers should preferably be allowed to settle from suspension in a portable container which can be moved to a location convenient to the molding operation. In placing the crisscrossed fibers on a scale to be weighed, the operator should be careini to remove in one bunch at least a sumcient mass of fibers to form a ball center. In order to do this consistently, the operator should remove slightly more than enough of the fibers to make the correct weight. Any excess fibers should be placed in a separate container and again passed through the picker or otherwise crisscrossed.

The proper crisscrossing of the fibers is an important feature of this invention as it has been found by test that when the fibers are properly crisscrossed the ball center does not break so easily and does not have hard spots on various parts of the surface. It is also important that the fibers be removed from the container in one bunch as removing them in several bunches causes planes of cleavage to form within the ball along which planes the ball is easily split.

Now referring more particularly to Fig. 3, 4 indicates a portion of a ball representing a modified form of our invention which consists of compressed crisscrossed fibers 5 and a shell por tion 5. The shell portion 6 may be made of any suitable binding material which, with or without baking, forms a hard shell. A number of synthetlc resins are suitable for this purpose such as, for instance, a molding compound popularly known as Durez, a phenol-aldehyde resin con--- taining ground vegetable fiber. Various other plastics may be used, such as rubber compounds, cellulose esters, etc.

This modified form of our invention is preferably made of fibers which have been -previously run through a picker. These fibers are also compressed in a mold in much the same manner as are the fibers 2 of Fig. 2. Before placing the fibers in the mold, however, the material out of which the shell is made is suitably applied to the inner surface of the mold. After molding and baking, or other suitable treatment according to the nature of the plastic, it will be found that the binding material placed in the mold will have formed a solid waterproof shell which has the desired physical characteristics.

We claim:

1. A ball center formed of compressed fibrous material, and having a shell formed of similar fibers fused together.

2. A ball center formed of compressed crisscrossed fusible fibrous material, and having a semi-rigid shell formed of similar fibers impregnated with a plastic material.

3. A baked ball center comprising a fibrous interior portion incased in a semi-rigid water-resistant shell portion, said shell consisting solely of fused fibers.

4. A baked ball center comprising a fusible fibrous interior portion with semi-rigid water-resistant shell portion, the fibers in the interior portion being substantially all in crisscrossed relationship with each other for the purpose herein described.

5. A spherical baked ball center of the class described, said center consisting of compressed fibers in crisscrossed relationship to each other, the fibers on the surface portion of the ball center being fused together and forming a resilient water-resistant shell.

6. A spherical baked ball center of the class described, said center consisting of a plurality of compressed fusible fibers in crisscrossed relationship to each other, the fibers on the surface portion of the ball center being fused together and forming a resilient water-resistant shell, said shell being impregnated and reinforced with resinous material.

'7. A ball center formed of compressed kapok fibers, and having a shell formed of similar fibers fused together.

8. A baked ball center comprising an interior portion of kapok fibers incased in a semi-rigid water resistant shell portion, said shell consisting solely of fused kapok fibers.

9. A baked ball center of the class described,

said center consisting of compressed kapok fibers in crisscrossed relationship to each other, the fibers on the surface portion of the ball center being fused together and forming a resilient water resistant shell.

10. A ball center formed of compressed crisscrossed kapok fibers and having a semi-rigid shell formed of similar fibers impregnated with a plastic material.

' CARLTON C. DAVIS.

JESSE HOWELL GREGORY. 

